TC's Broad Agenda Dazzles!

You’ve undoubted heard that the WAEA is now APEX and that means the Association is putting their arms around everything in the passenger environment. This new charter suits its Technology Committee (TC) particularly well, since that’s been the TC’s mission statement for the past several years. And this broad reach is evident by looking at the agenda for the next TC meeting slated for February 22-23 at the Huntington Beach Hyatt (Southern California).

Of course the agenda includes ongoing work on IFE video standards by the DCMWG (digital Content Management Working Group) headed by Michael Childers (Lightstream Communications) – and now they are looking to standardize on High Def video resolution, bit rates, and screen sizes. This session will launch the High Definition Working Group and its mission to establish a standard for the delivery of HD content in IFE. An update on SMPTE’s Interoperable Master Format (IMF) Working Group will be provided by its chair, Annie Chang (Disney).

And it also includes educational sessions on SD cards and Solid State Drives (presented by Tom Coughlin, founder of the Entertainment Storage Alliance) – what is the technology behind SD cards and SSDs, what is their capacity now, and where is it heading in the future?

MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) Challenges and Retrofit Certification issues will be addressed in presentations by Stephan Schulte (LH Technik) and John Courtright (Structural Integrity Engineering), respectively. Stephan will discuss the challenges faced by MROs, and John will talk about FAA certification issues (recent rulings regarding IFE wiring, etc).

Jetstar’s introduction of iPads will be described by Michael Reilly (Stellar), and Screen Aspect Ratio issues will be explained by Jeffrey Dean (Pixar). A presentation on Cabin Trends will be led by a representative from Airbus’ Innovation team, and will include info on IFE Connectivity as well as more general trends (such as trends toward a green society and gender-related trends of travelers). Other Industry Activities will be highlighted by Tom Munns (Arinc/AEEC) who will give an overview of the Airlines Electrical and Electronic Committee current standardization projects, and specifically the activities of the AEEC’s Cabin Systems Subcommittee.

This looks to be shaping up as another great TC agenda, and how can you beat the venue? – bring your beach gear and get in some beach time in late February in Surf City USA!

You can see the whole agenda at www.apex.aero, and registration (free to APEX members) is open now – and there’s a discounted room rate at the Huntington Beach Hyatt for the meeting.

This is one meeting not to be missed by anyone who his truly into IFE